Customer Reviews

Big Noise (A Jo Spence Mystery)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Big Noise by Jen Wright is a Northwood's thriller you can curl up with on a snowy night. Main character, Jo, is in need of a vacation from her stressful work dealing with troubled and sometimes dangerous teens. She and her new love interest, Zoey, head to the town Big Noise to visit friends, explore the outdoors, and explore their new relationship.

Barely a day into the trip, Jo gets a call from a colleague alerting her that one of her former probation cases has gone missing and he was last seen in the area she's vacationing at. This sets Jo sniffing around the lives of those who live up north; a motley blend of trailer-trash meth-heads, wilderness enthusiasts, poets, and hard-working lesbians.

There is a bit too much sentimentality and an unfocused emotional overflow from some of the characters. While there is a certain romance to the deep woods, the heightening seems deliberate. Amplified senses may help the plot, but sappy could aptly describe more than just some of the trees in Big Noise.

This novel does contain some intrigue, but I would classify the writing as suspense, rather than mystery. Because we can hear the murderer's thoughts, it creates a dynamic situation more than a puzzle to solve. The story is told mostly by Jo, but the point of view shifts between characters frequently. This lets the reader glimpse shameless flirtations, musings, crimes, and insecurities.

The sprinkling of poetry throughout the novel is, in sense, another viewpoint and a personal favorite. If Wright is a poet as well as a writer, she definitely excels at the former.

"Snow Blind
Delicate, intricate, particulate
pieces of ice
slip silent
to the trees.
Shaping and softening the
separation between Earth and
Sky.
Bright night full
Moon shines white
on white
goading the field mouse into a
Dance toward death
under the watch of
Owl eyes."
-pg 73-74

Big Noise is a nice little novel filled with a lot of drama and a shot of suspense. The writing is, at times, emotionally heavy, and not for those lesbian-shy. Wright has a knack and style any Minnesotan will enjoy. The snowstorm scene where they hunt for the fugitive is so well-defined that you expect to see flakes outside your window and long for a crackling fireplace.

Once into the background and character introductions, the mystery grabbed me and kept me up reading all night. This writer is going places! I love the Jo Spence series and can NOT wait for the next one.
I highly recommend this writer, Jen Wright.

I enjoyed this book, and can see the writers growth compared to her previous novel. Her stories
are interesting. I will read more of her books, but encourage the author to dig deeper in plot and
character depth. Well done!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this sequel to Killer Storm. I think I read it every spare minute I had for two days. The chapters were short yet engaging; I kept thinking, "just one more quick chapter". Next thing I knew it would be an hour past my bedtime and my dog would be snoring away under the covers without me.

The plot twists, depth of the characters, and sense of place in this book demonstrate Ms. Wright's growth and prowess as a writer. The "bad guy", the psychology surrounding his character, and the way he was weaved into the plot was probably the most intriguing part of the book for me. It added a component that one wouldn't normally expect in a story taking place in the peaceful, wintry North woods, but was necessary to the mystery plot. Also, the love/sex scenes were great. They were briefer than those in the first book, but enticed the reader with just the right amount of discreet eroticism.

There was a perfect marriage between mystery, suspense, and romance that makes this book a great weekend read and a wonderful companion on a trip to the cabin. I can't wait to get my hands on Jen Wright's next mystery!

Big Noise is the second installment in the mystery series featuring Jo Spence and her new lover Zoey. They go to Big Noise, a small, out of the way settlement, for a vacation and a chance to get to know each other better, but Jo can't separate herself from her work as a juvenile probation supervisor. She learns that a former client has disappeared in the area and is driven to find out what has happened to him. Jo's obsession with her job has the potential to destroy the relationship she's trying to build with Zoey and Zoey has been very understanding, but there may be a limit to her tolerance. Meanwhile a killer who is on a religious mission is stalking the area and their paths are destined to cross. A harrowing hunt through the woods sets up the book for a suspenseful ending.

Big Noise is a fairly simple "mystery" because there's never much mystery about where the story is heading. The real purpose of the story appears to be to give Jo and Zoey a chance to explore their relationship further. It also introduces some interesting characters, but the most intriguing part is the description of the rural community and how people live in it. The setting almost seems to be a frontier area of the 19th century instead of the modern world.

The book isn't a real 191 pages because there is a lot of white space in it. If you're looking for a couple of hours of escapist reading, this one will do fine.

First the negative: This book is a little on the short side. I like books you can lose yourself in and for me that's so much easier with longer books. Now the positive: This book is a worthy follow-up to "Killer Storm", the first book in the series. The mystery part is simple and leaves a lot of room for Jo's and Zoey's relationship, I like that. Again, there are great (!) descriptions of the wintry scenery, it's like being there yourself. I wonder what would happen if Jo found herself on a warm sunny beach wearing a bikini? :) I hope there will be another Jo Spence mystery!

Kindle formatting: Good. The chapter marks are missing, but the table of contents and cover are there and the text is carefully formatted.

Editing: Very good, didn't notice any errors.